President Joe Biden's campaign promises to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy got a big boost when Democrats swept the Georgia runoffs, giving them control of both the House and the Senate.
One of Biden's major tax proposals, pitched as part of his "Made in America" plan to boost manufacturing, is to overhaul the 2017 tax law's international provisions. New Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is among those interested in reworking the tax code to make it less attractive for U.S.-based multinationals to do business overseas.
Any of Biden's proposed tax code changes will run up against the same challenge: how to balance the desire to raise revenue with the need to boost the pandemic-ravaged economy. At the same time, the IRS is working to implement a slew of pandemic relief laws passed last year.
The latest episode of our weekly podcast, Talking Tax, rounds up highlights from a Feb. 4 Bloomberg Tax event. First, Wyden speaks with editor Sony Kassam about his priorities now that he has the Finance Committee gavel. Next, reporter David Hood questions tax executives at IBM Corp. and PPG Industries Inc. about their pandemic concerns. Finally, reporter Allyson Versprille sits down with Sunita Lough, IRS deputy commissioner for Services and Enforcement, to discuss the agency's pandemic-related challenges.